Steam separator



'Sept 3, 19 29.

w. KERR STEAM SEPARATOR U m JW v 6/ a a F Sept. 3, 1929. wkann STEAM SEPARATOR Filed May 13 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2` 0/ s J P 9 n o MM 1 o e0 M m l ,9 -W JV n. J

In/11619401! WILL/AM KERR,

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Patented Sept. 3, 1929.

UNITED VSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM KERR, OF EONG- KONG, CHINA.

STEAM SEPARATOR.

Application filed May 13, 1927, Serial N'o. 191,239, and in Great Britain .Tune 1, 1926.

This invention relates to steam separators which comprise a spiral conduit encircling an inner chamber, the wet steam entering said conduit at a tangent and passing therethrough, the water in the steam being thrown against the outer wall of said pas- ".sage and the dry steam escaping continuously through perforations into the inner *chamber from which itis led away, the water and any solid matter therein escaping by an outlet at the lower end of the spiral passage. Hitherto the inner chamber has usually been of cylindrical shape.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved construction of apparatus of the type above referred to of very compact form especially suitable for use in the steam drums of water-tube boilers and `'other places where space is restricted, but applicable generally for separating moisture from wet steam in a boiler or in a steam- "pipe line, or for separating moisture from air in an air-pipe line.

A steam separator in accordance with my present invention is characterized by the employment of an inner chamber the area of 'which rapidly diminishes towards its base, the spiral conduit encircling said chamber.

The accompanying drawings illustrate steam separators in accordance with my invention. In the drawings Figure 1 is a plan, one half of the cover being removed, and Figures 2 and 3 are sections on the lines X-X and Y Y respectively therein. Figure 4 is a similar view to Fig. 3 illustrating a modified construction.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the said drawings, in the example therein illustrated which is suitable for use in a steam boiler, a is the inner chamber and comprises an inverted cone, the diameter of the wider upper end of which is approximately twice its aXial depth, though these dimensions may be varied as required. It is closed at the top by a cover Z) having a central flanged outlet (Z for the dry steam. The conical wall is spirally perforated as indicated at e, and the lower end of the chamber is flat as shown at f. The spiral conduit is formed by a channel around the` interior of a substantially conical casting g. The conduit g is fitted around the inner chamber a and secured by 'a stud h thereto and by studs 7' to the cover b thereof. The cross-sectional area of the spiral conduit is gradually and progressively reduced from its inlet la to its outlet m.

It communicates through the greater portion of its length with the inner chamber a through the perforations e in the conical wall thereof. It may conveniently make two turns around the inner chamber, but the number of turns may be more or less. The perforations e are spaced and proportioned to agree with the progressive reduction of area of the spiral conduit g.

In action, the wet steam is admitted from the boiler into the spiral conduit by the inlet k, said inlet being at a tangent to the spiral conduit g, the water being separated from the steam and thrown onto the outer wall of the conduit by centrifugal force.

The water leaves the conduit by the tangent-ial outlet m. The dry steam passes from the conduit g into the inner chamber a through the perforations e and out of said inner chamber by the outlet d in the cover thereof.

In the form. illustrated in Figs. l, 2 and 3, the parts of my device are conveniently made from castings, each part being in one piece, but the parts may be made in two or more segments, if required.

According to a modification, the spiral conduit may be formed by a tapered tube or channel wound around the conical inner chamber a and welded or otherwise suitably attached thereto, the tube being perforated to correspond with the perforations c in the conical wall of the inner chamber. Such a construction is illustrated in Fig. 4, wherein the conically wound tapered tube g itself forms the inner chamber (L the tube being perforated at e on its inner side and its turns made steam-tight by filling pieces n and a wall p welded thereto to form the inner chamber.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3 I have shown the inner chamber a as fitted with a cover b, but in Fig. 4: this cover is dispensed with and the inner chamber a is fitted directly to the boiler shell q in the way of the usual stop valve the base of which is shown at 7', the walls p being provided with a. fiange s and a fitting strip t is inserted between said fiange and the boiler shell, the device being secured in position by the set screws u.

By my invention I provide a steam separator or the like of very compact design and of minimum aXial height which can be readily and cheaply manufactured.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A steam separator comprising an'inner chamber the area of which rapidly diminishes toward its base, a spiral Conduit encircling said inner chamber, a wet' SteamLin.- let to said Conduit, said inner chamber having perforations in its wall through Which ishes-a towardst its base, means for making steam-tight the Spaces between the coils of said tube, said tube having a series of spiraily arrangeds perforations on its inside through Which dry steam passes from said tube into the chamber formed thereby, a wet steam inlet to said tube opening tangentially into the upper end thereof, an outlet for steam from said inner chamber, and a water'outlet at the lower end of said tube.

In, testimony whereof, I afi ix my signature.

` WILLIAM KERR. 

